God's Idea

They went back to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity...
Lk.2:39,40

After hearing the amazing prophecies of Simeon and Anna, Joseph and Mary take their baby back to ordinary but also amazing life in Nazareth. What was their assignment? To have Jesus mature in a home of love.

I've had a type of epiphany this Christmas. On Christmas Day our parish priest described Mary and Joseph as a couple deeply in love. They held hands. They had eyes for each other as well as their baby. 

In the past I've beheld the Nativity with Joseph being Joseph and Mary being Mary, not as a loving couple. They would have felt a profound, grounding connection, prioritizing each other's happiness, sharing vulnerability, moving beyond initial "falling in love". The other's joy became as vital as their own.

With this new vision of Mary and Joseph's love for each other, it made sense to me that God would choose no lesser environment in which to have his son nurtured. Also, this elevates marriage to the sacrament it is. 

Mum and Dad raising children is God's idea. I best give my all to it and support it in others. 

Mary and Joseph, please pray for us.

He Saw and He Believed.

Then the other disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in; he saw and he believed.
Jn.20:8

John the Apostle writes of the moment he came to fully believe that Jesus was all who he said he was. What was the final convincing evidence? The empty tomb.

John lived with Jesus for three years, heard his teaching, witnessed the miracles, but it was the absence of Jesus, the empty tomb, that convinced him that Jesus was God. 

The awe and wonder I have for Christmas is only possible because of Easter. Like John, it's the empty tomb that reveals to me who the baby in the manger really is. 

Jesus is God! O come let us adore him...

Saint John the Apostle, please pray for us.

Endure to the End

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
Mt.10:22

Jesus warns his Apostles, and us, that being a follower will attract discrimination and hardship. So why follow him? The only honest answer I have... to be saved.

Being a Christian is no picnic in the park. Yes it's exciting, fulfilling, full of joy and hope, but a cakewalk? No.

Jesus says very clearly that being a follower of him requires endurance. This implies withstanding challenges or continuing to thrive despite them, as in "a love that endures" or "to endure a long delay". 

The saints are wonderful examples of what living with endurance to the end can look like, as with Saint Stephen. He was filled with the Holy Spirit and gazed into heaven seeing the glory of God! 

I can recall my life without Jesus. I was simply existing. Give me enduring any day!

Saint Stephen, please pray for us.

A Father's Blessing

And you, little child,
you shall be called Prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord
to prepare the way for him.
Lk.1:76

Zechariah's canticle includes a prophetic blessing over his newborn son John. Preparing the way during Advent includes the hearts of fathers being turned to their children. Here Zechariah shows what that can look like. 

I grab any occasion I can to speak blessing over my children. Birthdays, graduations, weddings, family gatherings. When these opportunities arise, if I don't seize them they pass, never to be reclaimed. 

I remember on my son's thirteenth birthday, with extended family gathered, I made a "bar mitzvah" type speech with Matthew standing beside me. He initially felt awkward, but I saw his head lift up and chest expand as I spoke of how proud I was of him as he grows into manhood and how wonderful the plans are that God has for him.

A father's blessing is powerful.

A Yes Man

‘I am the handmaid of the Lord,’ said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me.’ 
Lk.1:38

Mary says yes and POW... the Word becomes flesh.

I am constantly amazed at the power of a "Yes". The other week I was approached to be the Archangel Gabrielle in a nativity play at our local Cathedral. I wanted to say no but was stunned when I heard myself say yes. The resulting pantomime was so much fun. I felt blessed to be a part of it.

Lord, let me be a "Yes Man", in the best sense of the phrase. 

Mumma Mary, Handmaid of the Lord, please pray for me.

Further Up and Further In!

He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
Lk.1:17

John the Baptist's prophetic role was to prepare the way for God by calling people to change. He cries out to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, the disobedient to wisdom, the unprepared to readiness. The status quo is not enough.

What held back my surrender to Jesus for years was a fear of change. I thought I was going to lose fullness of life and freedom. I was shocked to find when I made my step of faith, fullness of life and freedom were the very things I gained. 

John's cry in the wilderness continues to call me to change. The more I discover, the more I learn there's so much more to discover. Everything becomes grander and more beautiful the closer I get to God. 

As Jewel the Unicorn cries out in C.S. Lewis' book THE LAST BATTLE, "Further up and further in!"

John the Baptist, please pray for me.

A Man of Honour

Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour...
Mt.1:19

On first learning that Mary is pregnant, Joseph reveals why he was called to be the foster father of Jesus. He was a man of honour.

For such a pivotal person in God's plan for redeeming the world, it is surprising how little is said of Joseph in scripture. Yet, much can be learned of his character from the woman he married and the son he raised. Maybe in this context, "a man of honour" says it all.

 Oh that I could be worthy of those four words on my tombstone. 

Saint Joseph, please pray for me.

Welcome to the Family

A genealogy of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham:
Mt.1:1

Jesus' genealogy includes the good, the bad, the ugly, saints and sinners. Among all that I fit quite comfortably. 

I'm reminded of the "rumbling heaven-bound horde" of yesterday's Gospel. We're not a stately, pious procession but a noisy, smelly bunch whose common DNA is simply that we are all liked and loved by God. 

Welcome to the family!

The Rumbling Heaven-bound Horde

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (Matthew 21:31).

The very people the religious elite despised were the ones being welcomed into God’s kingdom first. Why? Because they were convicted and converted. True transformation works from the inside out, not the outside in.

This passage always reminds me of Mrs. Turpin’s vision in Flannery O’Connor’s short story *Revelation*. She sees a vast company of unlikely souls making their way into the next world. It is not a “respectable” sight—not a quiet or dignified procession—but a crowd of people rumbling toward heaven. Among them are “battalions of freaks and lunatics,” shouting, clapping, and leaping like frogs.

I hope to be there too—shouting, clapping, and leaping like a frog among that rumbling, heaven-bound horde.

Jesus, teach me to fear God more than impress man. I place my trust in you.

Father's Heart Turned to His Children

To turn the hearts of fathers towards their children,
and to restore the tribes of Jacob,
Happy shall they be who see you.
Eccl.48:10

In today's feria first reading, Sirach prophesies the return of Elijah to "make all things ready" as Jesus says. One symptom of this readiness is the turning of father's hearts back to their children.

The great sign of our "unreadyness" is the terrible fatherlessness in today's world. More children are being raised in homes where the father is dysfunctional or totally absent. A home where the father's heart is turned towards his children is a home where the kingdom of God is close at hand. 

There's no age limitation to this. Even though my children are now adults, they still are my children and my heart needs to be turned towards them. 

Jesus, help me always have a heart turned towards my children. 
Saint Lucy, please pray for me.

Wisdom is Silent

Jesus spoke to the crowds: ‘What description can I find for this generation? It is like children shouting to each other as they sit in the market place:
Mt.11:16

Fools shout in the market place. But even a fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise. (Prv.17:28)

I have regrets about many things I've said when I wish I had been silent. Perhaps the greatest wisdom I can have is to turn to Mumma Mary for help. Scripture records her as a woman who spoke little but pondered in her heart much. 

Our Lady of Guadalupe, please intercede for me that I may have a guard over my mouth and keep watch on my lips.

His Hand My Hand

I, the Lord, your God.
I am holding you by the right hand;
I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid,
I will help you.
Is.41:13

God's strong right hand holds me. My weak left hand reaches out and holds on to him.

How wonderful that God wants to support me in my weakness. I don't need to hide, just reach up. 

Hand holding people are generally people who are walking, not running. There's a slow but steady Advent feel about this. 

I step out into today holding God's hand as I follow the donkey plodding slowly but inexorably towards Jerusalem. 

Lord, I rely on your strong right hand today. Thank you for always being there. 
Mary, Mother of God, please pray for me.

Slow But Sure

At that time: Jesus declared, ‘Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mt.11:28

Tiredness is part of life as long as I live on this mortal coil. God incarnate in Jesus knows this. He experienced it and He offers the remedy for it. Rest for my soul. 

How beautiful that at the very time when heavy burdens and tiredness are at their peak, in the days leading up to Christmas, Mumma Church leads me away to a place of rest. 

It's a time to focus back on the donkey plodding slowly but surely to Bethlehem. Slow but sure. That's a better pace for me today. 

Thank you Jesus for exchanging my burdens for your light easy yoke. Mumma Mary, please pray for me.

Focus on the Donkey

Happy are all who long for the coming of the Lord.
-Psalm Response-

Advent is a time of waiting for something, or more accurately, for someone. It is a time for happiness that is to be followed by a consummated joy.

The liturgical colour of Advent is purple, not the black lamenting purple of Lent. No, it is the rich purple of desire. We desire a person, Jesus. And this person is being carried in the womb of a frightened but trusting Jewish girl on a donkey.

Advent is a time to focus on the donkey. Donkeys are slow but they are steadfast. As the world revs up to Christmas Day, I am called to slow down to prepare. Prepare for what? Not for a day but for a person. And in my preparing, in my longing, I receive a hint of the joy that is to come.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!

Come See Go Tell

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.'
Mk.16:15

Jesus gives his final command to the Apostles before his ascension. The command is simple. Go tell.

If I had to distill all that Jesus commands of the Church it would come down to two things. Come see and go tell.  'Come see' as he invited the two disciples of John the Baptist. 'Go and tell' as he commands the Apostles in today's Gospel. 

Everything that happens in my parish should be either an extension of the invitation to come and see, or a response to the command to go and tell. This is our DNA, defining what we are here for. It's our mission.

The Church is the only organisation whose primary purpose is for the benefit of its non-members. Is my parish in mission mode with an outward focus or in an introspective maintenance mode? Or, to bring it closer to home, am I a missionary or a maintenance man?

Saint Francis Xavier, please pray for us.

Lord I am Not Worthy

Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.
Mt.8:8

The Centurion starts his great declaration in faith by a declaration of humility. I am nothing, you Lord are everything.

Before I became a believer I was very hedonistic. Everything and everyone was assessed on how they would benefit me. My world had a population of one and I was in the centre of it. I thought I was living the high life. In fact my world was microscopic. 

I'm reminded of Captain Hook's argument as to why parents don't like children, describing children's nagging demands being all about, "I want a party! I want a cookie! I want to stay up! I want, I want, I want, me, me, me, me, mine, mine, mine, mine, now, now, now, now!

There is still that little child in me that I need to put in his place. The Centurion's Prayer just before Holy Communion is a great time to do that. 

Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.